Hi there LR peeps. I have a bulge in my upper rad hose near the bleeder screw and my coolant temperature never goes beyond the first mark on my gauge even after a full day of driving. Disregard the service engine soon light (this is due to my O2 sensors). I think I might need a new thermostat? What do y'all think?

 

Jeez man, those hoses are 20 years old, soft as hell, and by the looks of the photos the tee and thermostat are as well. You need to replace all the hoses and install an inline thermostat quickly before that thing ruptures.

 

Any recommendations? Inline thermostat is something different than what’s in there now? Cheers

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...thread-105010/

 

I'd consider replacing temp sensor, also, while you're in there, very unusual for a Dll to run cool. And consider buying a Carsoft LRII scan tool, you can monitor actual engine temps and access codes easily with this diagnostic tool.

 

I would not be surprised to see a faulty coolant temp sensors causing the SES, with or without O2 sensor problems. Assuming the ECU thinks the engine is actually that cold it's going to be over-fueling and running rich, which can also ruin O2 sensors and cats. My ScanGauge tells me the engine is 165° when the needle reaches the middle so I'm guessing you'd be in the 120-130s, which is extremely rare. And yes, it's time for a refresh of the cooling system. Catastrophe looks to be right around the corner. Inline thermostat makes additional good sense here since otherwise you'd need to replace that T as well. Get the upgraded silicone gasket from the auto parts store.

 

good to know and thanks for the helpful advice. I had a feeling about that sensor (sits up top correct?) and now I believe you’ve confirmed this.

 

Since you will have it all apart, I would flush the heater core and run clean water for a while before putting coolant in. Seems like the cooling system could use some attention.
I agree, they dont really run cool.

 

update: replaced hoses, thermostat, coolant flush and coolant sensor (the one up top) and I’m still running cool. Is there a chance the coolant sensor at the bottom of the rad could also be bad? I also noticed the lower rad hose does not get hot, barely warms up. Does this indicate a blockage somewhere?

 

At least in the later trucks, the ECU gets its temp info from the CTS in the intake manifold. I'm not sure what the one in the radiator does, some trucks don't have that. My '04 doesn't and my '03 is a complete '04 swap so neither does it. Not sure about the '02. It takes a while for the lower hose to get hot to the touch. If you just let it idle a few minutes and it didn't get hot then that's not a good test. If you drive it a round for a bit it should get hot. Could be a bad cluster/gauge too.